CF express card

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sh1209

sh1209

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I wanted to get some thoughts on CF express cards and what brands you have the best luck with. I have continued to use the XQD cards and they have worked flawlessly with both of my generation 2 z bodies. Hypothetically speaking, if I were to purchase Z9 and not planning on doing video, would it be fine to continue to use the XQD cards in the Z9? I am just trying to figure out if it’s worth it to spend several hundred dollars on cards I might not need. Then there is CF express a and b and I’m not exactly sure what the difference is. I really don’t do a lot of long bursts. I sometimes do some 4K video maybe 30 seconds to a minute at a time but really nothing extended. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.
 
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Hut2 said:
CFexpress type A is a different format that doesn't fit Nikon. Physically smaller and lower speeds. Some Sony cameras use Type A
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So do you think there’s any real need to spend that kind of money on those cards for someone that shoots the way I do?
 
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Hut2 said:
I honestly don't know the answer. Someone recently shared the results from Ricci's tests on the Z9 that should be a good starting point.
I feel like I could personally get by comfortably at 20 fps with SDXC cards since I don't usually do long bursts to fill the buffer and no video. That said, I did purchase an 80 GB CFExpress Type A card when I ordered the A1.
I just did a test in an A1 with SDXC II card (300MBs) and it went 75 shots at 20 fps before stuttering. lossless compressed raw
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Yeah honestly I hardly ever go past 15 or 20 frames on anything and really don’t see the need to at least from my shooting style
 
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It would seem that would be more of a need for a photo journalist or someone doing very first action sports photography. I just really can’t see a need for it in wildlife photography or just most people use in general. I think if I do decide to try a Z Nine that I will at least experiment with the Xqd cards to see how it goes.
 
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I usually buy new cards for each new body I buy. I feel that after having a body for several years it's worth getting new cards. There is nothing wrong with XQD cards but they will gradually disappear going forward. Even now, I see CFe type B's going for less than XQD's. I've had good luck with Sony in XQD and CFe B but recently bought a Sandisk CFeB in anticipation of a Z9.
 
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When I shoot bursts at 10fps with the D500 it is really about following action or bird behaviour. It helps if the burst is long enough to capture the moment where the action is right visually in the frame. With birds in flight I like to review shots for wing and feather position. (I can seldom see if I have captured any eye catchlights while shooting. ) I usually shoot for no more than a few seconds. 10 seconds with 20fps is 200 frames to check. i would prefer to give myself the option to do burst of 5 to 8 seconds, pause and start again, if needed.
The D500 does 200 shots but I find that I seldom shoot more than 6 seconds. The longest I have done is about 30 seconds and that seemed so unnecessary. I haven’t done it since. It depends on what you see through the viewfinder. What will the longer burst get you?
I have no idea how well this will work through the Z9. It is always a little tricky watching for key moments through the D500 once the action starts. The blackout flickering and speed of small movements makes it hard to judge. I often find that the review process (in PhotoMechanic) on the computer reveals details I hadn’t seen in full during shooting. Maybe the no blackout interruption through the Z9 will make judging when you have got a truly memorable shot a whole lot easier.
I bought a Lexar 128 CfExp gold in anticipation of the Z9. I have a Sony 128 CfExp on order too. I hope they will give me about 7 or 8 seconds based on Matt Granger’s tests.
 
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sh1209 said:
Yeah honestly I hardly ever go past 15 or 20 frames on anything and really don’t see the need to at least from my shooting style
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That’s what I thought too… but once you start realizing that you can get the perfect moment at 20fps and AF that never misses… you start anticipating the action and stick with it till it happens, whatever ‘it” is. And then you have 200 frames in the buffer before you know it. Those cameras change the way you shoot, deeply. I learnt everything with film, and I have to unlearn things to take advantage of what the newer cameras can do. Get at least one CFE B with high speed and use your xqd in the second slot (assuming you use it as overflow, if you shoot redundant to both slots then you will be limited by the slowest card so either stay with xqd in both or upgrade both).

its the story of the guy who buys the Porsche and gets tires at Costco…
 
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I agree. My Lexar XQD 64 cards have been just fine with the D500 and Z6ii. I expect the Lexar CfExp will perform very well. I will buy some higher speeds cards, if that proves necessary.
Thanks for the Porsche anecdote 😁😁. I rode a bike to work for a few years. The bike was cheap but my tyres were where I found it was really really worth spending the money !
Another thing worth mentioning is the ability to anticipate and/or react quickly to developing situation. You don’t need a long burst if you have watched, planned and set up nicely and had the patience to wait for something interesting to happen.
 
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XQD @ 440 = about 50 frames or 2.5 seconds using HE*. It is likely you may find that 2.5 seconds is a little frustrating for wildlife photography.
If you watch the B&H etc. sales and specials, you may find some really good price reductions. Maybe that is a good plan B if the XQDs perform exactly as all the testing says. See the chart from Matt Granger etc.
 
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I thought about this a lot but ended up buying three new CFExpress cards. I think I could have managed just fine with the XQD cards as I don’t shoot many bursts, but if I have the camera set to 20FPS, I am going to hit the buffer in just over 1 second and I wanted to have the option to go longer if I decided. I agree with @Hut2 and @FB101 that you’re going to end up shooting the Z9 differently than current cameras. No blackout, silent shooting, high FPS, and great AF tracking it’s going to make it so easy to shoot a lot of shots very quickly. Not something you will do in every situation but I can see it happening when shooting action. You will need a new card reader and I’ve heard many of the cheap ones don’t work well so I ordered two of the prograde readers. I went with the Delkin cards, 1 Black and 2 Power. Some of the cards, like the Prograde gold won’t be any faster than the XQD so check out the list of cards shared above if you decide to buy some.
 
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From my research heat will potentially be more of an issue with the CF Express B cards in the Z9. The cheaper cards run hotter than say the Delkin Blacks. I hope I am wrong and will be able to use some of my XQD cards in the Z9.

I tried out a used Z7II this past summer and used XQD cards.... when shooting the highest FPS the card and camera got very warm...enough for me to send the camera back.
 
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If you do not use 20 or 30 fps often, the XQD cards work just fine. Again, if you need some speed the High efficiency raw and especially HE* can be handy with XQD. CFE B type cards are a must if you want the ultimate speed and buffer using uncompressed raw. Matt Granger's video has a nice summary of what CFEs and XQDs can do in terms of buffer using different Raw formats and different speeds like 30fos, 20fps, 15, 12 etc.
 
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Screenshot from Matt Granger's Youtube video.

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I’m not 100% sure I’m going to get the Z9 but do have it on preorder at two places just in case. I did this within an hour of release in case I did decide to buy it. I have 8 Sony XQD cards and three are never used spares. It sorta sucks to just not use them but it seems the CF express cards would be better for long burst’s. If I do purchase the Z9 I will more than likely sell the Z7ii and keep the Z6ii which I could keep some of the xqd cards for. I really wouldn’t want two high resolution cameras. Having said that, I would occasionally use the Z9 for landscape, portrait and macro work which the XQD cards are good for. It seems like one cf express card would suffice and use one xqd for jpegs which is what I do now. Looks like I need to get a reader as well. Any recommendations on a decent reader?
 
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Hot XQD cards in the Z7ii does not necessarily mean CfExp type B will have heat problems in the Z9. The bus system on CfExp is different.
None of the people who have used the Z9 are suggesting heating will be an issue.
 
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I bought a SanDisk CFE type b reader.

sh1209 said:
I’m not 100% sure I’m going to get the Z9 but do have it on preorder at two places just in case. I did this within an hour of release in case I did decide to buy it. I have 8 Sony XQD cards and three are never used spares. It sorta sucks to just not use them but it seems the CF express cards would be better for long burst’s. If I do purchase the Z9 I will more than likely sell the Z7ii and keep the Z6ii which I could keep some of the xqd cards for. I really wouldn’t want two high resolution cameras. Having said that, I would occasionally use the Z9 for landscape, portrait and macro work which the XQD cards are good for. It seems like one cf express card would suffice and use one xqd for jpegs which is what I do now. Looks like I need to get a reader as well. Any recommendations on a decent reader?
Click to expand...
 
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CFtempChart.jpg
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"Hot XQD cards in the Z7ii does not necessarily mean CfExp type B will have heat problems in the Z9. The bus system on CfExp is different.
None of the people who have used the Z9 are suggesting heating will be an issue. "

I did not suggest there was a heating issue with the Z9. My point was that when lots of data moves quickly there will be a certain amount of heat produced. This chart illustrates how some CF Express cards run cooler than others. If an XQD gets very warm in a Z7II at 5.5 FPS, in my mind there is a good possibility it will get very warm in a Z9 especially at higher frame rates. Of course shooting landscapes, macros etc should not be an issue but if the action picks up while I am shooting in those scenarios I want to be able to use the Z9 where it really shines without concern of having a lackluster card.

This link provides interesting info that might help the OP if he decides to buy a CF Express B card.

www.thessdreview.com

Delkin Black CF Express Type B 512GB Memory Card Review – Incomparable Sustained Write Speeds and Low Temps - The SSD Review

In late 2020, Canon introduced the EOS R5 mirrorless camera and that set off a frenzy of companies r
www.thessdreview.com www.thessdreview.com

Peace
 
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